Fence



(No Model.)

D. K. BRIGGS.

FENCE.

Patented May 20, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID K. BRIGGS, OF ROANOKE, VIRGINIA.

FENCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 428,265, dated May 20, 1890.

Application filed November 1, 1889. Serial No. 328,896. (No model.)

To all 2072/0112, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DAVID K. BRIGGS, a citizen of the United States, residin g at Roanoke, in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and usef ul Improvements in Fences; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in farm-fences in which the rails are bound down by bracing-wires and held by the top rails in part; and the objects of myiniprovement are, first, to provide a double bracing-wire 011 opposite sides of each of the two posts, whereby the sill-beam and the posts and rails are firmly bound together; second, to utilize the weight of the cap or top'rails for the purpose of insuring a proper binding of the parts against the rails at and near the upper ends of the posts, and, third, to so arrange the binding and bracing wires that the top rails shall lie upon the crotches of four wires and the wires at their crotches shall hug together and bind down the several sections of the fence. I attain these objects by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of one section of my improved farm-fence, portions of the rails of the adjacent sections being shown broken away. Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two views.

Referring to the annexed drawings by letter, A A designate the transverse sill-timbers of the fence, and B B are the longitudinal rails thereof, which are interlocked between the posts 0 O, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. These posts 0 G are suitably sustained upon the sill-timbers, and at J J ties are employed to bind together the said posts near their lower ends and to hold in proper places the lower rails B.

D D designate long wire braces, which are notched into the sill-timbers at a and may be held securely in the notches by staples. These wires are practically long loops, which are crossed at H, forming a compound crotch between the posts 0 0 near their upper ends and above the rails 13, the upper connected portions of the said braces being held by staples F and notched shoulders d.

It will be observed by reference to Fig. l of the annexed drawings that the topmost rails of the fence are bound down by the double braces D D and that these braces afford a support for the rails E -E,'the weight of which, bearing 011 the four limbs of the diagonal braces, bind together the upper parts of the posts 0 O and cause them to hug the rails.

- I am aware that in farm-fences it is not new to employ single wire braces crossed at their upper ends and secured at their lower ends to ground-sills or to sill-beams. Such devices have a tendency to lean the fence longitudinally and do not practically hold the posts uprightly nor allow the top rails to bind the posts squarely against the rails.

It will be seen that by my improvement the following advantages are obtained over the double-loop wire brace: I prevent longitudinal displacement and lateral strain on the wooden structure. I rigidly secure in the bottom of the sill-timber the wire loops. I so construct the several parts of my fence that they can readily be set up without waste of material, and finally in such manner that my improved fence is practically portable and can be easily moved by a hand-stick in or out for the purpose of cultivating the fence-row without the sill-timbers twisting.

Having described my invention, I clain1- 1. A farm-fence comprising the sill-timbers A, notched as described, the posts 0 C, seated on the said timbers and tied together at J, the lower horizontal rails mounted one upon another, the double-looped bracing-wires D, fitted into the notches a, the top rails E, bearing upon the crotches of the said wires D, the staples F, and notched shoulders d near the upper ends of the posts, as specified.

2. The combination,with the horizontal timbers, the vertical posts, and the horizontal longitudinal rails, of the looped bracing-wires embracing the posts and timbers and notched into the latter and secured by staples, as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID K. BRIGGS.

Witnesses:

H. M. DANIEL, J. A. YAGER. 

